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Unless otherwise indicated, all commentary and photography on this site are by Grady McAllister.

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Weather on all the Coasts

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Hard & Heavy

Below...
Galveston 1980 to 1988

Above: It's December, 1980, and a Sears Ricoh 35mm camera on a tripod captures a skater heading toward the Buccaneer Hotel. Photos by Grady McAllister.

Photographer's note: I took the all the pictures in this left column during the 1980's.

The Seawall Boulevard photos were shot from 1980 to 1983. An especially high percentage are from the mild winter of 1980-81. During that period, I was there nearly every weekend to practice my photography.

I took the other photos at East Beach, Stewart Beach, and The Hut Club, and the dates run from 1980 to 1988.

Additional vintage Galveston photos are on the on the Outlying Stations page.

Most images can be clicked for a larger view.

Notice the convenient plug for Igloo coolers. The last time I checked, they were still being made in Houston. I still use one I bought in 1984. The anamorphic photo below is adapted from a slide shot in Galveston in 1980. The arrow, which pointed to the 61st Street fishing pier, is no longer there. Hurricane Alicia may have destroyed it in 1983. This arrow image is the emblem for all of The Vasthead web pages.

Above: The Galveston seawall, a summer Sunday at dawn in 1982.

Above: Notice billboard for United States National Bank of Galveston.

Above: The Flagship Hotel in December, 1980.

Below: Skaters take babes in arms along for the ride in 1981. Don't try this yourself. Visible through the lifting fog is the Buccaneer Hotel, demolished on New Year's Day, 1999.

Above: In 1980, the Last Days of Disco had begun.

Above: November, 1980. It's twilight and time to return the skates after an afternoon on the Galveston seawall. Below: The same two skaters a moment later. This time, they knew they were being photographed.

Below: "A Light Streaks on a Beach."Appfel Park on Galveston's East Beach after a brief summer shower in 1985.

I scanned most of my Galveston images directly from a slide or negative, but this image came from a Cibachrome print that I made in 1986. The picture is in the masthead of all The Galveston Light pages.

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This page last changed July 29, 2010 0:41 AM .

"Let them rap together on all the problems of the world."

KXYZ-FM, American FM newscast, July 4, 1970

Is anybody here old enough to remember Red Skelton? Listen to what he had to say on July 4, 1970.

I recorded this myself off of KXYZ-FM (Later called KAUM).

Skelton's remarks were part of an ABC radio newscast. ABC had split into four networks, and their FM service was aimed at a younger audience.

Notice how the word "rap" is used. The connotation was a little different back then. A PSA tells about a plan to have young people from all over the world get together to "rap."

That didn't mean that they were going to do a rap talk version of "We Are the World."

To fund the project, the message tells listeners to wrap $2 in an envelope and mail it to "World Rap" in New York. Hopefully, no dishonest person with the Post Office heard about those envelopes. Two dollars back then was worth more than $10 today.

This recording is 40 years old this weekend.

KXYZ-FM, American FM newscast, July 4, 1970

Entire KXYZ-FM recording for July 4, 1970

The second link above is the entire 64 minute recording, not just the newscast. The politics in this Fourth of July broadcast contrasts dramatically with the conservative perspective of Red Skelton.  Bear in mind that it was a very divisive time, only a few weeks after the Kent State killings.

Skelton's July 4th discussion of the Pledge of Allegiance was recreation of a a monologue from his TV show the previous year. The material had also been released as a single, and Burger King had given a out a paper pressing.

Grady McAllister, M.S. (Occupational Technology)

Enjoy the silence

It's amazing how a casual remark can sometimes echo through the decades.

In 1981, a now forgotten Houston program director said to to me: "Every year, something else takes another piece out of radio."

That was well before the World Wide Web, iPods, and cell phone rants in supermarkets.

That was even before CD's. The speaker was thinking of things like CB radio, eight track units, and Walkman cassette players.

VHS and Beta video tapes were still emerging . On August 1 of that same year, a thing called MTV pounced upon the scene. It's first song? Video Killed the Radio Star.

That assault against local radio has continued with time.

I admit in several places on this site that I haven't been a heavy radio listener since the early 80's. This is due to both the quality of the material filling the airwaves and the availability of other better audio choices.

Even before I had a big collection of educational audio, there were plenty of times when I preferred to leave the radio off and enjoy the silence. I just wasn't reacting to radio as I had in my youth.

With radio continuing to fade, Richard Sands in Australia has brought one recent development to my attention. It seems that AFRTS (the American Forces Radio and Television Service) is gradually abandoning its local overseas media in favor of the internet:

How The Internet Killed The Military Media Empire

My only personal exposure to AFRTS has been their international short wave broadcasts. I expect that after everyone has taken their last shot at radio, and after most of the local wavelengths have gone silent, short wave will be the last signals standing.

Grady McAllister

July 2, 2010

Image Below:
The Moon in June

Doris Day: By the Light of the Silvery Moon

I saw the By the Light of the Silvery Moon recently for the first time, along with On Moonlight Bay, another Doris Day movie from nearly 50 years ago.

With lyrics by Edward Madden (1878-1952), the two songs on which the movies were based are now about 100 years old.

If you buy or rent On Moonlight Bay, the DVD includes an interesting film clip from the 50's. It explains how Madden wrote By the Light of the Silvery Moon while working undercover for police in sleazy New York bars. It seems that his moon songs began as an escape from the dismal surroundings of his work.

How did I get off on this subject? I heard the Beatles TV version of On Moonlight Bay on the Anthology 1 album and became curious about the age and origin of the song.

Above: Galveston 1900 Storm Memorial. Moonrise, June 26, 2010. Photo by Grady McAllister.

A Radio Sound Museum for Houston

On June 3, 2010, William Grady wrote:

Grady,

I just spent some time reading your web site, and although I didn't work in Houston in the 60's, I did come in contact with some of the greats. After a few months doing morning news on KENR, I was hired as evening anchor at KILT in the summer of 1970. Jim Carola, gave a 19 year old kid a heck of a break.

Talk about a great teacher, he was amazing. He pushed me into learning news "from the ground up." Robert B McEntire was also a terrific mentor. These guys inspired me do a good job. They taught by example. The same applied when I went to KNUZ , where Chuck Scott was news director .I was fortunate to have worked for and with some legendary journalists and broadcasters .

I still apply what I learned from these solid professionals daily. Houston radio in the 70's, for me, was magical. Your site brought back some great memories. Many thanks, and keep up the good work !

Kindest Regards, Bill Grady, Kansas City

My response:

Thanks for writing. I was thinking about putting your note on my web site.

I never met Jim Carola in person, but I talked to him on the phone as far back as 1965. A decade later, he helped me get my weekend job at KIKK when I only had a year of on the air experience.

Are you working for a station now? Whenever I post an email, I like to connect the name to a station if I can. Please let me know either way. Thanks.

Bill Grady's reply:

I'm now working at KMBZ/Kansas City as a general assignment reporter, with Entercom since 2003 . I've been back in Kansas City since '83. I did my second "tour of duty" at KLIF 1977-1980, then 80-83 at WBAP.

I'm not surprised that Jim helped you get a radio job. His legacy is that he helped a lot of young people in broadcasting. I wish there were more like him.

Kindest Regards, Bill Grady

Resume of Grady McAllister

Post all questions, opinions, and requests for airchecks on this public blog:

Houston Retro Radio Blogspot

Below: Quick, call the Boca Raton tabloids! Infrared time lapse photography reveals headless ghosts crossing street in Galveston. March 13, 2010.

Groovy, baby!

Or, A typical aircheck request: "Could you possibly find more of these and put them on your site? That would be so groovy, man...LOL"

— from an April 27, 2010, email

My Response:

Somebody has been watching too many Austin Powers movies.

The above message complained that this site has only short "snippets" of KILT in the 70's. That's quite a shame, isn't it?

I am going to explain the aircheck situation one more time.

This page began just as a place to list my own recordings of radio stations. Later on, other people made contributions, but this site was never intended to be the Listener's Clearinghouse for All Airchecks.

It takes quite a bit of time just managing the current collection. I am not in the business of finding specific additional airchecks for people. The reasons are thoroughly explained on the FAQ page. If you have something to contribute, fine, but don't expect me to locate new airchecks for you.

If you would like to make a public appeal for a specific type of recording, you should place it directly on our public blog. You can log in using your Google, Yahoo, or Twitter I.D.

Do not request an aircheck in an email to me.  Everything I have to offer is already on line, so what is the point in asking for what I obviously don't have?

Don't write just to complain about what isn't here. I am not here to apologize for what I don't have.

I set up the public blog so people would have a place to appeal for airchecks, ask questions, and express opinions. 

You should use the public blog if you want a recording I don't have. I have neither the time nor the inclination to go find it for you.

If people keep writing to me to demand airchecks I don't have, the public blog will be eliminated, and all such inquiries will be ignored. Once again, the only place to request specific airchecks is the

Houston Retro Radio Blogspot

Added April 16, 2010

KBRZ, Freeport, 1974, Richard Dobbyn

Ken Tyner sent this material from Freeport, Texas...

Grady, I was in Houston today getting my car serviced and I left a message on your voice mail (on your phone).

I went by Bill Young's studio in Sugar Land and they were kind enough to transfer (from cassette) a voice over Richard Dobbyn did for me back in 1974. I got them to make me, Bill and YOU an extra copy. So, write me back and let me know where to send it and I will mail it to you.

The reel-to-reel kept fading in and out and could not be transferred. Anyway, at least I have this for you and will be glad to let you have it.

Regards, Ken Tyner

Thanks to Ken Tyner for sharing this material. This is the first new, previously unpublished, radio station recording I have received in almost two years.

April 11, 2010

A Few Words about Katyn

It is ironic that so many Polish officials and military officers died on their way to the site of the Katyn massacre.

At the Katyn forest, the Soviets executed about 20.000 Polish officers and intelligentsia early in World War II. The Germans learned about the massacre after they invaded the Soviet Union. They made full use of its propaganda value and publicized the discovery using international observers. When the Soviets took back the territory, they blamed the massacre on the Germans.

Here are some old documentary films on the subject:

Katyn Massacre 1

Katyn Massacre 2

Here is a recent dramatic film:

Katyn (2007)

If you have a Netflix account, you can watch the film immediately on your computer.

Or you can watch it on You Tube

The documentaries will help you understand the movie. People who are not familiar with Katyn tend to get confused as to which army they are watching and the motivations of different groups.

The movie covers both the massacre itself and the Soviet cover up.

Galveston's KGBC Leased Out to China-Based Media Conglomerate

Galveston County Daily News, January 5, 2010:

GALVESTON — Unable to dial in enough financial support from advertisers, owners of KGBC radio have leased all the station’s airtime to one of China’s state-owned media companies, ending a yearlong effort at local programming.

The sudden format switch killed local shows and surprised and disappointed loyal listeners and a few advertisers.

People who tuned into 1540 AM on Jan. 1 expecting classic rock and local talk instead got Asian music and political forums, along with an array of unfamiliar programming.

Galveston Daily News story

I used to listen to Paul Harvey on KGBC when it was a true Galveston station. I would usually keep listening through all the local news. As you have probably noticed, Galveston is prominently presented on my web site.

This Radio China International programming will be aimed at all of the Houston area, not just Galveston. That is what always happens when an outlying station adopts a highly specialized format.

I can think of two other local Galveston stations that are now long gone, KILE and KUFO. The old KGBC will be remembered as the last Galveston station to program to a diverse local audience.

There are some who will hail any Asian station as a Triumph of Diversity. If diversity is what you seek, you need look no further than Galveston Island itself. That is the audience which is no longer being served.

Now you will get the kind of China programming that used to require a short wave radio.  It comes at this price: The elimination of local programming in Texas' most famous medium sized city.

It's bad enough to have local programming usurped in favor of syndication, but it is something else entirely to simply sell out to the highest bidder, particularly when that bidder is a foreign government.

Does Galveston have a licensed radio station so that all off metropolitan Houston can be lectured on the need for censorship in China? Responding to the recent dispute with Google, Radio China International stated that censorship is to maintain the "stability" of China and the "mental health of its people." I actually heard that while driving in Houston, listening to the new AM 1540.

Instant Question. . .

Hasn't this Cosmopolitan Culture Thing gone just a little bit too far?

I don't normally get involved with current radio issues, but this one is unavoidable. If you would like to comment on this, remember I have a public blog for that purpose:

Houston Retro Radio Blogspot

Grady McAllister

Jerry Gillies' 110 Questions for the new decade(PDF)

Jerry Gillies is a former radio announcer whom you will get to know better. Also, check out Jerry's Moneylove blog in the column to the right.

Above: Southeast Harris County, November 7,2009. Photo taken near the north end of the South Belt Bike Trail and Blackhawk Blvd. Click for a wider view.

Influence. What does that word mean to you? Imagine yourself without influence and you quickly realize that it is one of the most important skills you can learn. Creating Irresistible Influence with NLP, can open up an exciting new dimension in your life. One that can make life a more fulfilling adventure than you have ever imagined. All you have to do is apply this knowledge and make meaningful influence the magic that transforms your life.

Houston Retro Radio Blogspot

A blog of our own

For some time, I have suggested that people find a blog for posting their radio questions. I say this because most of the questions they ask me are ones that I can't answer.

Nonetheless, people keep coming to me with those "what ever happened to" questions. I am usually the last person to ask since I have not been a heavy radio listener since the mid 70's. (Once I discovered educational audio listening, there just wasn't much time left for radio.)

So, here is what I have done: I have set up a blog just for the people who visit this web site. It is not a place for ME to answer radio questions. It is a place for ANYBODY to answer a radio question. If I happen to know the answer, I will write one. However, the chances are there will be someone else out there who is better equipped to give an answer.

I am hoping that people will go there first with their requests for specific airchecks and esoteric radio questions.

I can think of two other purposes for this blog:

1. People can post comments about radio even if they are not related to a particular question or aircheck.

2. People can debate details of radio history without dragging me into the middle of any disagreement. Comments which are less than civil will be removed.

So, you see, this Blogspot is not about me but about you: Your questions, your answers to questions, and your opinions about radio . . . past, present, and future.

Link to Houston Retro Radio Blogspot

Grady McAllister

All of my airchecks are now online!

In fact, I have nothing left except my Apollo 11 material and airchecks of my own voice.

I am holding the moon landing material back indefinitely. That way I will still have something to trade if that is the only way to get something I want. I have given everything else away.

I must be sent new material for this site to grow. Reel to reel tapes from the first half of the sixties get top priority. Adult format tapes get even higher priority.

— Grady McAllister

How this web site is organized

This radio section grew to the point where had to be split into more than one page. The new pages are listed toward the top left.

No system of classification is perfect, and once you put a station into a category there can be some misleading implications. KILT won't be listed as an adult format, but it was not just for teenagers. It mainly aimed for ages 18-35.

On the other hand, some teenagers listened to the KXYZ beautiful music format in the 60's. I was one of them.

Here is the question I use to separate the adult formats from the not so adult formats:

"Is this a station which a young punk would put up with?"

In the 60's and 70's, a young punk would have listened to KILT and KLOL, but he would not have put up with KPRC, KODA, or KYND. I listened to all those stations, including the ones that a young punk would have laughed at. I was young but I was never a young punk. (I credit the Alex Bennett recordings for teaching me the usefulness of the phrase "young punk.")

There will also be overlapping categories. The Alex Bennett group is big enough to rate a separate section. Yet among his material you can find entire recordings which are the regular KILT music programming, not just the talk shows you expect.

You also find the opposite situation: A talk show on page devoted mainly to DJ's. The Beau Weaver talk show follows the Captain Jack DJ materials on the Mainly 80's page. That is because I didn't want to break up my "Night in the Life of KILT" set.

There are also newscasts embedded within talk shows and music shows. I hope to eventually copy all of the newscasts and list them separately on the news and public affairs page.

This home page is the one you should mark in your browser. The specialized radio pages will undergo additional reorganization and renaming, so always begin your visit here.

Clicking on the "Houston Retro Radio" flash text banner will return you to this page from any other radio page. If you wander onto another part of VASTHEAD.COM, you can return to this radio home page by using the cyan colored link marked "Houston Retro Radio."

About Houston Retro Radio

Except where other writers are quoted, all commentary on this page is by Grady McAllister.

The opinions of persons quoted or mentioned do not necessarily represent the views of this web site or its associates. Likewise, the appearance of a person's name or words does not constitute an endorsement of opinions expressed elsewhere on this site.

Some of the audio materials include opinions on political issues of their time. They are presented here solely for their historical interest and not as an endorsement of the views the recordings contain.

All material on this site is presented on an "as is" basis. It does not include any warranty as to its accuracy or availability or its suitability for any given purpose. Do not use this web site in making any decision for which incorrect data might lead to loss of life, personal injury, loss of property, financial loss, inconvenience, or emotional unpleasantness.

Houston Retro Radio is hosted as part of VASTHEAD.COM, a web site which has been on line since 1997. You can also access this page directly by going to

http://houstonretro.com

More about this radio site

If you don't want your name to be used, or for an email to be quoted, please state that at the beginning of your message

All writing, including my own, is subject to continual revision to better meet the current needs this site. In some cases, an incoming message may be rewritten slightly to improve clarity or to conform to generally accepted editing practice (for example, not beginning a sentence with a numeral).

Please write to me if you notice any typographical errors, bad links, skipping mp3 files, or any other problems in these pages.

There is little point in writing to me seeking a specific aircheck. Nearly everything is already here.

Grady McAllister

More about this radio site

Write to this web site

The above recordings are archived for their historical value to researchers. They may not be used for any commercial purpose. The material is made available under U.S.C. Title 17 Section 107. Any given item may be covered under international copyright law even if no copyright notice appears.

You can also access these pages by going to http://houstonretro.com.